戸倉上山田温泉から車で５分で紅葉の綺麗で有名知識寺があります。紅葉状況を見る為に、よって行きました。葉っぱの色は変わり始まっていて、いい雰囲気でした。もう１週間ぐらいで更に綺麗になると思います。
About 5 minutes by car from Togura Kamiyamada Onsen is Chishiki Temple, famous locally for the brilliant fall colors of its maple trees. I checked to see how the colors were developing today. They were just starting to turn -- I think the leaves will be in peak color in another week or so.
温泉街の周りの山々は既にいい色になっています。黄色とオレンジと茶色のキルトのように。今日は若女将と若若女将で西公園で紅葉ピックニックしました。
The mountains around our onsen town are a collage of yellow and orange and brown colors. This afternoon I went with Mari and our baby Misaki to Nishi Kouen (West Park) for a Fall Foliage Picnic.

信州戸倉上山田温泉の亀清旅館のHPはこちらClick here for the Website of Kamesei Ryokan in Nagano.

ハロウィーンから残っているかぼちゃが亀清の玄関で飾っています。親亀・子供亀・孫亀のオブジェーと一緒に。

We have some pumpkins from Halloween out decorating the entrance to our inn. Here they are surrounding our 3-generation turtle garden art.

毎年の秋に亀清の玄関が真赤になります。この植物の葉っぱは紅葉でこの深い赤になります。若若女将とのツーショットです。

Every Fall, this shrub in front of Kamesei turns a deep red color. It's hard to capture the how vivid the color is with a photograph, but here the shrub is with our daughter Misaki.

亀清旅館のＨＰはこちらClick here for Kamesei Ryokan website.

「旅館の仕事は大変でしょう｣とか、｢長野に引っ越して、大丈夫か？｣と届きどき言われます。｢幸せです｣といつも答えます。今日も良い日でした。夕べはオーストラリアから来たＣａｔさんとＪｏｅｌさんと一緒にお神楽の練習に行きました。(私は獅子笛を習っています。)そうすると、お神楽の渡島さんと話が盛り上がって、本人が自分のりんご畑に誘ってくれました。従って、今朝は上山田の奥に方へ上がって、渡島さんの畑にお邪魔しました。今がピークとなっている信濃スィートを取れたてで頂きました。オーストラリアからの二人はこういう農家の体験で喜んだし、渡島さんが自慢のりんごを海外からの方とＳｈａｒｅ出来て嬉しいし、私は信州の秋、そして上山田のおもてなし、そして他の国の人の見方を知る事で、嬉しかったです。本当に幸せです。
People often say that an innkeeper's job and that rural life in Nagano must be tough. But I always tell them that I am blessed. Today was a perfect example. Last night, I went to the Okagura Lion Dance practice (I am learning the flute) and invited our two guests from Australia to go along. There we got into a great conversation with Okagura's Watashima-san, who ended up inviting us to his apple orchard. So this morning, we drove up (and up!) to his orchard, and he treated us to freshly picked Shinano Sweet variety apples. Cat and Joel enjoyed experiencing an apple orchard in Japan, Watashima-san enjoyed showing off his prize apples to visitors from overseas, and I enjoyed being out in Nagano's great outdoors in the fall, as well as seeing Kamiyamada's omotenashi welcoming spirit, and getting to compare ways of thinking with people from another country. I really consider myself blessed.

戸隠の山口屋という蕎麦屋さんからの情報：
今年の新そばが入りましたので今週末(10月25日)からレストランの方で利用始まる予定だそうです。
そして、戸隠の紅葉は鏡池の周辺がもう終わりましたが、バードライン辺りがピークだそうです。
信州の秋をどうぞ、楽しんでください。

We received a call from Yamagachi-ya soba restaurant in Togakushi. Apparently, this season's new crop buckwheat is in, and they will start serving soba noodles with the new crop this weekend (25-Oct.).
Also, Togakushi's fall colors have finished around the Kagami-Ike (Mirror Pond) area, but are in their peak around the Bird Line road coming up from Zenkoji.
Now is the time to enjoy Autumn in Nagano!

りんごはこの時期の代表果実かもしれませんが、実は他のが沢山あります。例えば、柿、無花果（いちじく）、そして、亀清の前のお店の庭で今出てきている柘榴（ざくろ）です。その店が「べに屋｣と言う衣料品屋さんです。斉藤おじさんはお店の周りの庭を丁寧に育っています。温泉街を散歩している方がいつも泊まって、庭の綺麗な、なおかつ珍しい植物を見ます。亀清の近くにこんなに綺麗な庭があって、嬉しいです！
This time of year, everyone thinks about apples. But apples aren't the only fall fruits. Around here, there are also a lot of persimmons, figs, and pomegranates. Our neighbor across the street, clothing shop Beniya, has an traditional garden with many intricate, unusual plants. One of these is a pomegranate tree, and the fruit is in its peak. Who will get it first -- the Saito's or the birds?

英語の「Ｇｉｖｅ」は日本語で何になりますか？贈与とか寄付するとか。私の憧れている人とこの間、「Ｇｉｖｅ」と言う意味を議論しました。例えば、寄付する時に条件が付くとか、何か戻ってくる期待するとか、顔が広くなるのが目的とか、とにかく、単純なＧｉｖｅが世の中で少ないと。
この時期、戸倉上山田温泉は町中、いい香りしています。あちらこちらにある金木犀のお蔭だ。その匂いをかむ度に、そのＧｉｖｅの話を思い出す。金木犀はその良い香りを出すのに変な目的がおそらくないでしょう。単純です。私達がまねすべきですね。
I once had a discussion with my mentor on "Giving". Many times, people "give" with strings attached, or expecting something in return, or for recognition. Giving simply and purely from the heart is probably a rarity in this world.
Lately, our town, Togura Kamiyamada Onsen, has been graced with a lovely scent. The 'Kin-Mokusei' (according to the dictionary, fragrant olive trees?!) are in bloom. They are casting their scent far and wide, giving pleasure to everyone in the town. The trees do so with seemingly no hidden motives. Hence every time I smell their scent, I remember the talk on giving. If only we could follow the good example of this tree!

一番可愛いりんごがこの姫りんごだ。うちの姫（美咲ちゃん、一才半）とのポース。

The cutest variety of apples is the Hime (Princess) Apple. Our 'Hime', Misaki (1-1/2 years old) posing with some.

亀清旅館のＨＰはこちらClick here for Kamesei Ryokan website

長野県を代表できる風情：そば畑の白い花。一茶の言う通り：
信濃では
月と仏と
オラがそば

This picture catches the essence of Nagano: a soba field with its white flowers. As the haiku poet Issa wrote:

Shinano de ha
Tsuki to Hotoke to
Ora ga soba

As for Shinano,
The Moon and the Buddha and
For me, the soba.

(Shinano = the old name for Nagano)
(Moon refers to the moon at Obasute that reflects in the Ta-Goto-no-Tsuki rice paddies.)
(Buddha refers to Zenkoji Temple in Nagano City.)

戸隠とかの高原ブナ林、湿った林床に自然に入っている植物、レンゲショウマ、が亀清の庭にも顔を出してくれました。ガーデナーの岡田さんが春に植えてくれましたので場所になじんできた様で綺麗に咲いてきました。薄い紫な色が見事です。
In the sprin, our gardener, Okada-san, planted rengeshouma in one of our gardens. The plant is common in Togakushi Highlands, in the damp understory of beech forests. This cute little plant with its soft purple flower has seemingly taken a liking to our little garden and is charming us with its new flower.

亀清旅館のHPはこちらClick here for Kamesei Ryokan website